FATAL 70 FEET FALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18549, 6 November 1923, Page 8

FATAL 70 FEET FALL.

YOUNG HINDU KILLED.

WINDOW CLEANING MISHAP.

PLASTERING GIVES WAY. 'BY TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON. Monday. Fatal injuries were sustained this morning by a young Hindu named Dayal Moya, aged 23. who fell from the top of tho Hotel Arcadia in Stout Street to the pavement, in full view of a number oi people, who were at the time on Lambton Quay. The injured man was a day porter employed at the - otel, and was at the time supposed to be engaged in cleaning windows. For some reason unknown to the proprietor Moya must have made his way round the top of the parapet and endeavoured to reach a cornice some sft. below. In doing so he apparently supported himself by holding on to an ornamental concrete rose decoration, which like most concrete decorations of the kind, was only plastered to the front of the building, and had been there for ma' 1 years. The man's weight was too m 211 for the plaster, and the ornament broke away, falling to the street below. Moya apparently made a desperate attempt to .hold on to the smaller cornice, which was some 2ft. below - I '-" ie was trying to reach, for this showed the marks made, by his fingers in drap- g across it, but its sloping surface gave little chance of a secure hold, and the man fell. He struck a number of telephone wires on the way down, and finally fell on to the street some 70ft. below, where he sustained a broken right arm and leg, a badly cut head, and severe internal injuries. . He was conveyed to the hospital, where he died this afternoon. An unfortunate feature of the accident was the delay in the arrival of the ambulance. The police were communica' d with, and arrived within a couple of minutes of the accident. They immediately summoned the ambulance, stating that the case was serious. Dr. Gilmer was then communicated with, and arrived within a few minutes. It is asserted that the am- • bulance did not arrive until more than 20 minutes had elapsed after a call was made for it. In the meantime the badly injured mati had to be laid in a cellar doorway, just off the footpath, where but little attention could be paid to him.